China vows to safeguard Iranian nuclear deal

Beijing, however, agreed not to increase purchases of Iran's crude, the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity toldBloomberg on Friday.

Iran has been furious over U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of an worldwide agreement on Iran's nuclear programme and re-impose sanctions on Tehran.

Trump unilaterally withdrew the USA from the multilateral deal with Iran in May and announced plans to reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic, that would eliminate Tehran'soil revenues.

Washington made a decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran upon its withdrawal, accusing it of posing a security threat, and has told countries they must halt all imports of Iranian oil from November 4 or face USA financial measures.

Washington also imposed a series of additional sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals, as well as foreign companies in Iran, squeezing Iran economically.

USA officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the drills appeared created to send a message to Washington, which is intensifying its economic and diplomatic pressure on Tehran but so far stopping short of using the us military to more aggressively counter Iran and its proxies.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned the USA against any attempt to stop Tehran's oil trade, threatening to block the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Sunday it had held war games in the Gulf over the past several days, saying they were aimed at "confronting possible threats" by enemies, the state news state news agency IRNA reported.

Sanctions will also be reapplied to United States imports of Iranian carpets and foodstuffs and on certain related financial transactions.

In Washington, the US State Department said on its Persian-language Twitter account: "While it is ultimately up to the #people_of_Iran to determine their country's path, #America supports the voice of the Iranian people, which has been ignored for a long time".

The Trump administration had wanted Iranian oil exports cut to zero by November 4.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reports that a man taking part in a protest in the northern province of Alborz was fatally shot.

When pressed by CNBC to answer the questions she was raising, Croft replied, "I think this market will tighten at the end of this year", and added that Venezuelan production continues to fall and will be a contributing factor.